I worked at ING Investment Management Americas full-time (more than 10 years)

Pros

Good compensation and bonuses. The company would pay for anyone to prepare for and take the CFA exam. There are some nice co-workers.

Cons

Poor work/life balance for back office employees. Poor performers are kept around for way too long in alot of cases. Certain awful managers were seemingly rewarded for bad behavior, and HR was powerless to intervene.

I have been working at ING Investment Management Americas full-time (more than 8 years)

Pros

company is becoming its own without Dutch Group sometime soon. 40 hr. volunteer / community paid off time per year

Cons

no one knows what kind of company will it turn out to be. Hired leaders talk the talk, and got paid handsomely to make company public, meanwhile company is quietly laying off people while overworked worker bees have no salary increases in years.

Please eliminate the unprofessional middle management and work to boost employee morale. Force management to cut out the ridiculous politics and favoritism and focus on talent and innovation. Implement accountability on behalf of management.

I have been working at ING Investment Management Americas full-time (more than a year)

Pros

Location of the office nothing else

Cons

no leadership either at the very senior level or at the lower management levels, no clear direction. THe culture in the IT department is horrible . 15 people have left in the past 2 years. There are some good employees but the very existant office politics is exhausting. Never have I seen grown adults fight so much. The HR department does nothing they are powerless.

A number of good people work in the organization. It's one of the few redeeming qualities. The pay is okay and initially competitive, but frankly from an hourly perspective employees are overworked, underpaid and under appreciated.

Cons

Uncertainty regarding separation from parent company, bonus structure is completely arbitrary with no explanation, milestones when reached are rarely recognized, organization appears to be straight out of a George Orwell novel with marching orders coming from Big Brother.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Employees are stretched to the brink. Promotion opportunities are very limited and mission statement is completely ignored. Turnover is very, very high for a reason.

Substantial investment capabilities, both in terms of technology and people. A consistent investment philosophy across the fixed income platform. Upside potential depending on growth of investment management business, rebranding of IM apart from banking and insurance. Good work/life balance relative to other investment management firms.

Cons

Vast uncertainty in terms of future of business, future of company, location of operations, etc. Marginal track record in most strategies. Political pressures from HQ in Netherlands impact pay, especially bonuses. Bitter office politics. Too much emphasis on seniority and "experience", not enough appreciation for talent, not enough effort to get the most out of everyone's skill set.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Pay your employees what they deserve to be paid. If you pay mediocre wages/bonuses compared to competitors, you are doomed to work with mediocre talent, which ING IM is flush with at every level and job function in the firm.

Multinational company with European mindset, lots of growth opportunities across geographical & capital markets; Diversified offerings; Stable company. Very smart people (nobody less than a MBA where I was); mostly young crowd

Cons

Sub groups have too much autonomy that could make your work hell or heaven. No consistency in culture because of some people's own agenda. Few weak managers cause the system to break down. Can get too focused on meeting targets.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Encourage management learning & frequent reviews, to gauge their effectiveness, not just focus on numbers. Implement an employee engagement program.